On paper it was easy to see what team general manager Dell Demps was trying to build.

He tried to jump-start the rebuilding process, trading away first-round draft picks and quality players to acquire young veterans as Davis’ supporting cast.

Tyreke Evans in a Manu Ginobili role? Yep, we could envision it.

Ryan Anderson to space the floor and lead in the locker room? Check and check!Omer Asik as the bruising big-man defender protecting Davis in the paint? You bet!Jrue Holiday as "Robin" to Davis’ "Batman?" Seemed like a great idea back in 2013.

Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon are both free agents and not expected to re-sign with New Orleans.

Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter have had five combined knee surgeries over the previous eleven months.

Omer Asik was a disaster in head coach Alvin Gentry’s system.

So that leaves Davis and Jrue Holiday.

When Holiday was healthy, he and Davis were pretty amazing together.Unfortunately, Gentry refused to play the two together very often.

Davis and Holiday spent just 52 percent of the their total minutes last season on the floor at the same time. By comparison, Steph Curry and Draymond Green were together 91 percent of the time for the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Holiday is also an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2017, so there is no guarantee he’ll remain in New Orleans long term.

So what will the Pelicans do?

All indications are they’ll be extremely mediocre.

Since Benson and his top lieutenant, Mickey Loomis, didn’t fire Demps or Gentry when the season ended over a month ago, we can only assume they’re both returning.

But Benson and Loomis have refused all interview requests regarding Demps and the Pelicans; so really, it’s all a guessing game regarding the team's direction and hierarchy.

What I can see happening is:

Demps and Gentry remain in their current positions and continue to blame the club's dismal 30-52 overall record last season entirely on injuries. The two men will add a quality young player in the 2016 NBA draft (or trade the pick for another young veteran) and sign a second-tier free agent.

Those two moves and good health will make the Pelicans one thing; a fringe playoff team.

Demps will remain on the hot seat and NBA insiders everywhere will be talking about Gentry being the first head coach fired during the 2016-2017 season.

Best-case scenario, the Pelicans sneak into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in 2017 and are once again a sacrificial lamb for a more powerful club.

So I’ve got an idea.

Cut your losses now.

Start the Pelicans rebuild over. Take a step back, in hopes of eventually taking a big step forward.

Davis is only 22 years old and his new five-year contract extension starts this season.

Use the 2016 draft to add quality young players to the roster. This draft may not have many superstars, but it’s got a ton of quality NBA starter types. And don’t think some of theses guys won’t become superstars. Steph Curry (No. 7 pick in 2009) and Russell Westbrook (No. 4 pick in 2008) weren’t supposed to become superstars, but both are today.

The Pelicans should add as many young, high-IQ basketball players as possible this summer to grow with AD.

If nothing else, hope will once again reign supreme and fans will at least believe this team can grow into something special.

So how do the Pelicans tear down and build back up?

I’ve got a six-part strategy:(And, yes, I’m well aware most of this is pure fantasy and will sadly never happen)

1. Draft University of Kentucky guard Jamal Murray sixth overall in the 2016 NBA draft. I’m going Murray for the Pelicans because I think University of Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield goes to Boston third overall and Minnesota takes Providence College guard Kris Dunn fifth in the draft. Murray could end up being the best of those three anyway.

2. Trade Holiday to Sacramento for the eighth pick in the 2016 NBA draft or to Utah for the twelfth pick in the 2016 NBA draft. I love Holiday, but as I stated above, he’ll be a free agent in 2017. Utah is in desperate need of a quality point guard. Holiday gets the Jazz over the hump and into the postseason. The Kings could also use a quality PG who’ll help them make a playoff push in their new arena. Being from California, Holiday has a chance of sticking with the Kings long term. The Pelicans use the pick (no matter if it’s No. 8 or No. 12) to select my favorite player in the draft, Michigan State guard-forward Denzel Valentine.

4. The Pelicans have two picks in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. I’d draft two polished college players. Jake Layman, from the University of Maryland and Malcolm Brogdon, from the University of Virginia. Both are high-IQ players who join the three rookies selected in the first round to form a new core around Davis.

5. Sign Free Agents:

Allen Crabbe (four-years, $36 million)

Matthew Dellavedova (four-years, $32 million)

New Orleans will not be able to land any of the top-tier free agents this summer. So don’t try. Crabbe is a young player on his way up and Delly is a hard-nosed winner who can start, serve as a backup and has championship experience. When discussing Crabbe, Portland needs a rim protector, so maybe the deal could be a sign-and-trade with Ask going to the Blazers.

6. The final item on my wish list is Becky Hammon.

Last year, long before she won the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League I said New Orleans should seriously consider her if the team parted ways with Monty Williams. I’m not enamored with Hammon because she’d be making history as the first female head coach in men’s major professional sports. I’m enamored with her because of her background, what she accomplished as a player, what Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich says about her and the fact that her young team last summer bought into her and what she was doing. That said, I’d be lying if I said the fact that she could make history in New Orleans wasn’t intriguing to me. Look, back in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina, men like Sean Payton, Scott Fujita, Drew Brees and Reggie Bush came to New Orleans and they knew they were doing more than coaching and playing football. There was a deeper sense of purpose and meaning. They were playing for an entire region that needed them to lift our spirits and show the world New Orleans was still relevant. Having something deeper to play for helped those early Saints teams. Knowing she’s making history and changing the world of sports forever is something I like regarding Hammon.